Senior Director, Career and Workforce Readiness (Strong candidate identified)

Senior Director, Career and Workforce Readiness, AP Instructional Design 

College Board – AP&I 

Location: This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).  

Type: This is a full-time position 

NOTE: A strong candidate has been identified for this role.  

About the Team  

The College Board’s Advanced Placement and Instruction division (260 staff) develops and administers coursework taken by more than 3 million students worldwide each school year, and the related subject-matter exams utilized by more than 4,000 colleges and universities for course placement and awarding of college credit. These include credit and placement examination programs like CLEP and ACCUplacer; Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP courses in 40+ disciplines; and associated teacher professional learning programs. 

The Advanced Placement Program is the largest offering in the division’s portfolio, and has six departments: Curriculum and Assessment, which develops the course frameworks, designs the exams, and guides the grading and scoring process; Delivery, which manages the annual cycle of transactions with schools – from student registration to exam administration, scoring, and score reporting; Access, which focuses on expanding availability of AP and Pre-AP courses, participation among traditionally underserved students, and supporting teachers; Strategy, which measures and evaluates the program’s components, identifies and evaluates program opportunities and threats, and leads the development and implementation of strategic initiatives; Digital, which leads product development of the Bluebook digital assessment platform, manages the implementation of digital testing for AP Exams, and provides instructional resources via AP Classroom; and Instructional Design, a new department charged a new department charged with developing and implementing a curricular research and instructional design phase to proceed all major content development projects, including: any possible new AP course; any significant revision to existing AP courses; major changes to student assessments, such as replacing part of the summative exam with through-course tasks or projects; and new teacher resources. The department is charged with designing how to integrate workforce readiness, durable skills and industry-recognized credentials across AP coursework, ensuring that AP continues to serve as a powerful pathway to both college and career success. 

About the Opportunity   

The Advanced Placement Program is utilizing its scale, brand, and reputation for quality to design and redesign courses that will better prepare a wide range of students for an array of in-demand, living-wage careers. This curricular research and instructional design work is based within the AP Program’s Instructional Design department, Within this department, as the Senior Director of Career and Workforce Readiness, you will lead the strategic integration of durable skills, workforce readiness skills, industry-recognized credentials (IRCs), and career and technical education (CTE) opportunities across new and existing AP courses that enter a design phase. This role combines deep expertise in CTE and workforce development with strategic instructional design guidance to ensure new and revised AP courses effectively prepare students for both college and career success. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for meaningful workforce connections, provide subject matter expertise for analysis and design projects, and guide the creation of resources that support career-connected learning within AP courses. 

In this role, you will: 

• Guide Strategy and Approach: Conduct curricular analysis and requirements development for integrating workforce readiness and durable skills, industry-recognized credentials, and career-connected learning opportunities for AP courses that enter a design phase. 

• Provide CTE Expertise: Act as the primary subject matter expert on CTE programming, regulatory requirements, and workforce development trends, informing both curricular analysis and course development. 

• Lead Complex Analyses: Guide curricular analysts in evaluating potential CTE pathway courses and analyzing workforce alignment opportunities, ensuring comprehensive consideration of educational and industry requirements. 

• Secure Strategic Input: In alignment with the College Board’s cross-divisional Career and Workforce Readiness subject-matter experts, collaborate with education and industry partners, state CTE directors, and workforce development boards to ensure AP's approach to career-connected learning aligns with current and emerging workforce needs. 

Specific Responsibilities: 

Instructional Design (50 %) 

• Integrate workforce readiness, durable skills, and career-connected learning into AP course frameworks and other course and assessment prototypes 

• Design of innovative approaches for workforce and durable skill development and credentialing within AP courses  

• Develop requirements and feedback that guide instructional designers in developing career-connected learning experiences in AP coursework 

Curricular Analysis (30%) 

• Guide the analysis of workforce trends and their implications for AP course development and revision  

• Develop and apply criteria and guidelines for evaluating workforce alignment opportunities within existing and new AP courses  

• Provide strategic research, guidance and requirements for the integration of industry-recognized credentials into relevant AP courses 

• Act as a subject matter expert on national CTE programming, including Perkins requirements, state frameworks (including differences between CTE and Gen Ed standards), and industry standards  

Cross-Divisional Planning and External Collaboration (20%) 

• Create guidance documents and learning experiences for cross-functional teams tasked with integrating workforce readiness, durable skill sand career connections into new or existing courses  

• Participate in cross-divisional planning efforts led by the Project Management Office, contributing to the development of high-level project plans, governance structures, and timelines  

• Work with other AP departments and external partners to ensure that all aspects of the design process are coordinated, with a focus on smooth transitions between project phases 

• Build and maintain educator and industry relationships to gather insights into the landscape, needs and constraints of College Board’s partners 

• In alignment with the College Board’s cross-divisional Career and Workforce Readiness subject-matter experts, represent AP and College Board at relevant CTE and industry conferences and events  

About You 

You are a strategic leader who bridges the worlds of academic excellence and workforce development, with a deep understanding of how rigorous coursework can prepare students for both college and career success. Your expertise in CTE programming and workforce development is matched by your ability to translate complex requirements into actionable guidance for instructional design. You are energized by the challenge of integrating career-connected learning into academically rigorous courses while maintaining the college credit value that defines AP. Your experience with work-based learning and industry partnerships gives you unique insight into creating meaningful connections between classroom learning and workforce application. 

You have: 

• 7+ years of experience in CTE program development, workforce development, or related fields, with demonstrated expertise in creating career-connected learning experiences 

• Comprehensive knowledge of national CTE frameworks, Perkins requirements, and state CTE programs  

• Strong background in workforce development, including experience with industry-recognized credentials and work-based learning programs  

• Strategic mindset with the ability to identify and capitalize on opportunities to enhance career readiness within existing educational frameworks  

• Experience developing instructional resources that bridge academic content and workforce applications  

• Deep understanding of both educational systems and workforce development, including relevant policies, trends, and best practices  

• A Proven track record of working with industry partners and educational stakeholders to create meaningful learning experiences  

• Outstanding communication skills with the ability to translate complex workforce requirements into clear instructional guidance  

• A collaborative approach to working with cross-functional teams and diverse stakeholders 

• Ability to travel (up to 15%) 

• Authorized to work in the United States.  

About Our Process   

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled   

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.    

About Our Benefits and Compensation 

College Board offers a competitive benefits and compensation program that attracts top talent looking to make a difference in education. As a self-sustaining non-profit, we believe in compensating employees equitably in relation to each other, their qualifications, their impact, and the relevant market.  

The hiring range for a new employee in this position is $112,000 to $165,000. College Board differentiates salaries by location so where you live will narrow the portion of this range in which you can expect a salary.  

Your salary will be carefully determined based on your location, relevant experience, the external labor market, and the pay of College Board employees in similar roles. College Board strives to provide our best offer up front based on this criteria.  

Your salary is only one part of all that College Board offers, including but not limited to:    

• A comprehensive package designed to support the well-being of employees and their families and promote education. Our robust benefits package includes health, dental, and vision insurance, generous paid time off, paid parental leave, fertility benefits, pet insurance, tuition assistance, retirement benefits, and more 

• Recognition of exceptional performance through annual bonuses, salary growth over time through market increases, and opportunities for merit raises and promotions based on increased scope of responsibility 

• A job that matters, a team that cares, and a place to learn, innovate and thrive 

You can expect to have transparent conversations about benefits and compensation with our recruiters throughout your application process. 

About Our Culture   

Our community matters, and we strive to practice and improve our culture daily. Here are some headlines:  

• We are motivated to positively impact the educational and career trajectories of millions of students a year  

• We prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team where every employee can thrive, and every voice is heard 

• We are a dynamic hybrid team, giving staff members the choice to either be fully remote or hybrid if they live close to a College Board office. Hybrid employees go into offices every Tuesday and Wednesday 

• We welcome staff to join any or all six of our affinity groups: ARISE (Alliance for Asian Retention, Inclusion, Success, and Engagement; DIASPORA (Alliance for Pan-African Success and Achievement); Pride (alliance for LGBTQ+ staff and allies); Resilience (alliance for Native staff and advocates); SALSA (Staff Alliance for Latinx Success and Achievement); and WIN (Women’s Impact Network) 

• We value learning and growth; we offer formal and informal ways to lead through your superpowers, sharpen your strengths, and meet your development goals 

• We know that our impact is strongest together. Our College Board Cares program offers all staff up to $1,000 annual match against partner non-profit organizations   

• We offer a transparent approach to promotions and merit raises, annual performance-based bonuses, and how to grow your career here over time